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In 2010 the Japan Only Titleist TVD was one of our top selling wedges no doubt.  This is the new 2011 model.  What makes it so cool?  well first it's only offered to Tour players as well as on rare occasions sold in very limited numbers at Vokey Wedgeworks to the public.  The Japan TVD-R CC features a slightly different stamping but the best part is it's sold all year around.  This in my opinion is their best wedge to date.  A word that describes them that comes to mind is refinement. It's not forged or even made in Japan  It's just a solid wedge and that makes it a must for any vokey fanatics collection.

The new TVD-R features a new grind from Bob Vokey called the "R" Grind.  The R Grind is a modified TVD grind featuring a pre worn leading edge which allows for easy in and easy out clearance through the turf.  The new TVD-R features a spin milled face and C-C grooves (Condition of Competition conforming grooves).  The crescent shaped bounce surface is narrowed and cambered for shot making along with tour proven heel toe and trailing edge relief to create more pure impact. The leading edge grind is what I would call perfect.

The TVD-R is available in 8 loft/bounce options  48/8,  50/9,  52/10,  54/11,  56/12,  58/10,  60/9,  and 62/8.  The 62* sounds nice doesn't it?  You can custom order it with a variety of different shaft options and swing weights.  Graphite, KBS Tour, DGHL & SL and other NS Pro offerings.  The standard shafts are the usual S200 & NS950 and with those you can achive a D1-D3 balance but depending on what optional shaft you select it can go as high as D5.

I think the grind is standout, it's got everything I want just wish it was forged of S20C.  I have the previous TVD and it IMO isn't as sexy. Which leads me to the question and today's poll:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

The new Titleist Japan 2011 TVD-R C-C Wedge will be part of our 12 wedge shootout soon to come. stay tuned to see which top wedge makers get honors.

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Odyssey, the number one selling putter brand in Japan has expanded their ever popular Japan only iX series of putters by adding the new Tour Designs iX line. The new Tour Designs iX features. Co-designed with input as always from Japanese tour pros, the Tour Designs iX features Odyssey's firmer tour prototype insert as well as a lower CG placement in the flange of each putter for true and instant roll. The firmer insert provides the feedback desired by better players for optimal control and direction.  The new #9 model also features a 2mm deeper face for more accurate impact resulting in better distance control. The new #5 mallet is based on the classic 330 mallet shape. Two heel toe blade style putters are available, the #2 and #4. The finish is an all new Black Nickel finish which is very premium looking and brushed to reduce glare.  The tour prototype insert uses a dual material design with an elastomer core and outer layer with urethane cover. Look for the new Japan only Tour Designs iX putter in the pro shop this week!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Srixon Japan is announcing their new 2011 Z-TX series so were going over the new 2011 model Z-TX driver.  Srixon USA just announced Japan's 2010 version Z-TX as new while two new 2011 Z-TX drivers are coming to Japan.

The Japanese OEM's have been very conservative when it comes to club adjustability when compared to the many U.S companies that jumped in face first into the frenzy. Now it's Srixon's turn with their "Quick Tune System" which is just your basic wrench that allows you to swap out weights to adjust the clubs balance and bias.  The Z-TX 460 has two adjustable weights while Z-TX Tour has only one.

The  430cc Z-TX Tour and  460 cc standard version.  They both feature the same advancements except in a different shape, face profile, and specifications.  The Srixon Z-TX tour is designed for the fast and powerful swinger with it's deep face and pear head shape.  The 460 for those who are looking for more toe and heel forgiveness and have average to moderately fast swing speeds.

Both the 430 & 460 are made using a cast 8AL-2V Titanium in the body and Super TIX 41Af Forged Titanium in the face.  The club head and shaft are manufactured in Japan.  The face is brushed satin silver while the sole is mirror and bead blasted.  The driver comes shafted with a wrench and weight replacements of 3g and 11g.

Dunlop own's SRI sports and SRI ownes Srixon, XXIO, Cleveland, and Miyazaki shafts among a few other smaller brands.  It's only natural that they would attach and market their new clubs with the Miyazaki Kusala shaft and it's dual power charger technology.

You have your choice of the Kusala Blue 72 or Silver 61 in the 460 and the Kusala Black 72 in the Tour edition.  The tour is available in 8.5 and 9.5* while the standard spec is available in 8.5/9,5/10.5.  These will be listed in the TSG ProShop shortly for pre order .

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Taylormade Japan has made their first official product launch announcement for 2011 and we hope this is the start of many to come. We all know already that that the R11 driver is coming and it will of course be officially released in Japan in early March right after the Japan Golf Fair. Along with the R11 Driver and it's top shaft offerings like the Diamana ahina, Tour AD DJ, ATTAS T2 and Motore Speeder we'll also see the R11 Fairway wood and a new Rescue which features an all black sole and white crown.

Like the US Japan will first launch the new Tour Preferred line of irons the MB Forged, MC Forged and CB. We're expecting the announcements for new Japan model Burner Forged, Burner TP and R11 Forged as well in the next few weeks leading up to the Japan Golf Fair.

TM Japan will also be releasing several new putters starting with the announcement of the new Raylor Ghost. The Raylor Ghost is a cross between the white Ghost Putters and the Japan only Red Stripe Putters except this time the stripe is black and white. It also features an all new soft surlyn insert called the PU insert or Pure Roll.

Finally Taylormde Japan announced the release of the Burner Superfast 2.0J lineup which is for Japan only as noted by the "J". The Superfast 2.0J series features a new driver which has two models, a RED model for the average golfer and a and SILVER model for the athlete and better player. There will also be RED and SILVER models of the new 2.0J fairway woods and a new 2.0J Rescue. There will also be a ladies line of 2.0J models for the smaller Asian lady and any lady really looking for ease of use and distance.

We look forward to more announcements from TM Japan and getting our demos for review!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Chris aka TourSpecGolfer here... I've been somewhat missing in action for the last 6 months with Jacque (TourSpecGirl) and I out making a difference in the world for the less fortunate.  It feels great to be back in front of the computer again ready to contribute to our readers and members here at TourSpecGolf/GolfToImpress in time for 2011 & the up coming Tokyo Golf Fair.

OEM samples were Tario's aka (gocchin) responsibility while we were away and starting in the coming weeks more and more will be headed my way to take the load off of him.  Anyway great to be back!

Coming February 26, 2011 Cleveland will be releasing their all new Japan Only CG-F2 Wedge.  Every year Cleveland usually releases one Japan Only club which is usually forged and "Made in Japan".  If your a cleveland fan and want the best they have to offer for 2011 you can't miss this.
Tech & Sales data in the U.S for 2010 show one of every ten wedges sold in America & Japan is produced by Cleveland Golf.  Besides being produced in Japan some of the changes are more evolutionary than revolutionary.  Cleveland Golf has found a way to significantly enhance spin performance over the previous model by adjusting the stance and rounding the head shape.  The Cleveland CG-F2 Forged is geared to work for a wide range of golfers from average player to professional.

Sakura Yokomine one of Japan's famed female professional golfers (Srixon Sponsored Player) has just recently put the new CG-F2 into play. Translated her comments were " It's easy to be poised with its good sized face area, Even softer hitting feel that makes the ball rise and spin a lot. It can even handle the most difficult pin positions and bunkers."

By straighting the leading edge and neck it allows any player to square up their stance with confidence.  Forgiveness was key in the design creating a medium sized head and face with all the player qualities like minimal offset and top line to satisfy all levels.  It's wide spread sole is uniform for increased stability and direction which reduces the amount of duffed shots and silly mistakes.

Made in Japan of soft forged iron and utilizing Cleveland's face milling laser cutting recipe it comes standard with DG S200 or NS Pro 950. Available in 50/8,  52/8,  56/10/14,  58/8/12,  60/8 degree loft/bounce combinations  the NS Pro has a swing balance of D3 while the S200 comes in at D4.

Look forward to the pre sale being listed in the TSG Proshop this January!

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I posted the first part of the Driver White Paper last week, a survey done by Golf Today comprising of 350 random golfers and their driver trends.  Today I'm going to talk about some of the other results such as what influences players purchasing decisions and what brands and new models really stand out to those 350 surveyed golfers.

As I had noted in question 4 from Part 1, 287 golfers said they were satisfied with their current drivers. The survey actually goes deeper and asks the player the key point of that they are most satisfied with.

Then results are quite spread out with forgiveness actually edging out distance. However it's possible distance comes from forgiveness and distance also equals a forgiving driver.  About 44 people went with design of the head meaning looks still count in the books of many.

Next was a list of the 20 most used drivers among the 350 players. They did not list actual numbers used however the names on the list are of interest as they range from 2005 models all the way up to new 2010 models:

2007 TM Burner, 2009 Titleist 909D3, 2008 XXIO Driver, 2008 Callaway Legacy, 2006 r7 425, 2008 Srixon ZR800, 2008 Yamaha Inpres 4.6v RPM, 2008 Nike Sumo 5900, 2009 TM R9, 2009 Tourstage X-drive 701, 2007 Mizuno MP Craft 425, 2010 XXIO Driver, 2010 Tourstage X-drive 703, 2006 Nike Sasquatch 460, 2008 Mactec NV-NX, 2010 PRGR GN502 Tour 440, 2005 Tourstage ViQ, 2009 Ping G15, 2010 TM Burner Superfast, 2009 Yonex Nano V

One of the reasons why there are many older models in that list is the availability of used clubs in Japan. The fact that there are so many used clubs available also means that the turnover is high and supports the observation that Japanese golfers change clubs a lot, at least a a large portion will every 1-3 years.

Next players were able to pick the most important features they look for in a driver that influence their purchasing decisions. Players were able to choose more than one feature.

The number one important characteristic was look at address while distance was number 6. Price was down at number 7 and only a important purchasing factor for 117 of the 350 people.

The next question is an interesting one. Players were asked to pick which brands they like and they could choose more than one. This question does not necessarily have to do with which brand driver the player currently owns but rather based on new models and offerings as well as reputation, which brands appeal to these players the most. Please note they only listed the top 10.

Titleist Japan took top honors here and the feedback from most was their image of producing high quality clubs. The Japanese seem to always want something with foreign brand whether it be BMW or Benz or Callaway or TM. And the foreign brands take advantage of this with top quality Japan only products like the Titleist VG3, Callaway Legacy and TM Japan's Japan only forged irons.

Next they asked players if there currently was a driver on the market that they wanted to buy. 140 players said yes and 210 said no. Please note that this survey was done back in August so certain models were not announced yet or available. Golf Today asked the players to name which one driver they were interested in buying.

The results were a bit surprising considering Titleist was named the favorite brand yet not a single Titleist driver made the top 10 of desired drivers. I was honestly surprised to not see the VG3 driver here in this list considering how popular its been in Japan the last 6 months.

The final question asked how many of the players had reshafted their drivers. Amazingly 60% of the players had reshafted with most of the players wanting more distance and control.

So how about you?

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Taylormade Japan introduces their all new tour model iron, the premium 1 piece R9 TP Forged iron. The new R9 TP Forged is 2010 USGA Groove Conforming and with design supervision from major champion Nick Faldo, is designed to meet the demanding needs of the professional and low handicap golfer.

While offset numbers are similar to previous Japan TP Forged models, the new R9 TP Forged features sharper lines and a shorter blade length with thin top line and a traditional shape and size. Premium forged from S25C steel, the R9 TP Forged focuses on feel and control.  Manufacture Suggested Retail Price is 1260.00 USD 5-PW but TourSpecGolf has them on sale for 1099.00!  Click Here to view the official sales listing with more images and information.

Gocchin also did a comparison with the Burner TP back in March for those better players considering both.

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Lotte Kasai Golf in Tokyo held a demo day for the new Titleist Japan VG3 Forged Iron. Like the driver which I have posted about many times here on the blog, the Japanese Market VG3 Irons are aimed at the average golfer and improving mid capper. The strong lofts (24* 5 iron) matched with low CG in the form of tungsten weights in the sole create a higher launch and more MOI. The interesting thing is that the VG3 features variable placement for the tungsten weights on the sole depending on the iron just like on the driver. I can't wait to hit the irons to see how the different placement affects trajectory, feel and control.

The iron is most likely premium Japan forged by Endo which typically does the advanced multi piece forgings and does manufacture the VG3 driver already for Titleist as well as most of Titleist Japan's forged irons. The VG3 is longer from heel to toe and features small offset with a mid sized top line and sole. Trajectory is on the high side and is made for distance and forgiveness which is typical for the average golfer target audience. We're looking at a late September release for the VG3 Forged Iron which will be available with 3 shaft choices initially, NS Pro 950GH, DG S200 and a Fujikura Titleist Motore 6.0i 3 axis carbon shaft.

I've already asked our Titleist Japan rep to send over demos which I will test along with the new Tourstage GR Forged.  Two very good irons made for the average to quickly improving golfer. Premium forged, and top notch peformance!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Taylormade released its Vicino putter earlier this year to the global market and feedback from top players to amateur has been very positive.  As many of our readers already know Japan usually reserves the many top tier products exclusively in their own market.

The New AGSI(C) Taylormade Spider MAX Limited is based on the new and sleek Vicino shape. It features an ultra light polymer core and steel frame along with the new composite AGSI+ insert for forward roll and optimal spin on contact. The difference with the Japanese Max model is a larger overall head for increased MOI and stability in other words maximum forgiveness.The Max features the deepest and lowest CG of any TM putter.

The Max also features a number of shaft options and grips only for the Japanese market like a center shaft model as well as a 48" Long CS model.  The standard single bend shaft over is also available with TM Jumbo Grip (125g).

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We've finally got an all new Titleist VG3 in the house for pretty picture taking. I tested the driver back at the Japan Golf Fair back in February and made a quick review back then explaining the the driver's design aspects and development. For many years, Titleist has been accumulating data about golfers head speed, age, distance etc. They came to the conclusion for this new design that this driver should provide the best performance at an average club head speed (40 - 43 m/s), unlike previous Titleist Drivers which were made for faster swinging and better players. Tileist Japan's development team with joint cooperation from Titleist America sought to create a high performance Titleist driver with a focus on flying distance.

An Automatic Titleist for the Average Golfer?

The VG3 was created after a year of development and testing and was finally released in Japan back in March to big fanfare as the Titleist driver that finally average golfers or those who wanted forgiveness could play. Now that I actually have the driver sitting here in my office I can sit back and take a closer look at it.  Aesthetically it is rather simple looking which is a good thing meaning its a clean design. Even though it targets the average to mid-capper golfer the head is still rather traditional shaped but the face is more shallow than typical Titliest drivers. As discovered in real loft and real face angle testing, the face looks square to slightly open meaning the VG3 probably still isn't meant for the slicer.

Nice feel and sound Face...

I like the face of the driver, its a forged cup face and doesn't have score lines going across the center of the face or sweet area which is something I prefer. The tap test is something I do with a tee on all the drivers I get. I take a tee and tap spots all around the driver to see what kind of sound it produces.While this tap test is what I do personally, I find I can relate the sounds to how the driver feels and sounds at impact. A higher pitched sound usually means a thinner part of the face while a lower softer sound means a thicker spot. The Titleist cup face does have a thicker sweet area and thinner walls around the sweet area for that sling shot effect we all love in a variable thickness face.  This is reflective of the VG3's soft feeling but crisp sounding face.  Not all drivers are created equal when it comes to tee tapping!

Click on Read More for Pics and the VG3 development Video!

Clean well made design...

Some people have said they found the design to be very basic however I find the driver has a premium but minimalist look to it. Workmanship and finish is top notch and while I still have not confirmed it I can still swear that this multi piece forged design has  Endo written all over it especially knowing Titleist's ties with Endo and the fact that this driver is premium forged in Japan.  I found the VG3 head to have less bulge than typical average/mid capper golfer models. This seems to be a trend in Japan as a lot of driver releases this year seem to sport less bulge in the face. This is a characteristic that better golfers seem to like as it allows them to more naturally work the ball.

I didn't do a hitting video for the VG3, as the demo they sent me is the wrong flex so I'll post the promo video from Titleist again for those who want to hear the sound. When I tested the club previously, I used the Motore 5.0 and VG50. The VG50 is the high launching shaft of the 3 stock options and its probably the most forgiving shaft for the average golfer. It's higher torque and active tip square quickly to the ball and really works to give max carry. The Motore 5.0 on the other hand launches the lowest of the 3 and climbs to a mid high trajectory. I wish I had a chance to hit the VG60 which has a mid launch but with the most penetrating trajectory and is 45.5" as opposed to the other 2 models which are 46". Both the Motore 5.0 and VG50 paired well with the VG3 providing great feel and forgiveness though both models are probably best for the smoother tempo and swinger rather than hitter.

VG3 Ball on the horizon...

One thing I am looking forward to is the new VG3 Ball release. It appears this ball may replace the GranZ as the premium Titleist soft distance ball since I have not heard anything yet about the new GranZ ball being released. The GranZ has long been one of the best 3 piece balls in Japan and even I took the opportunity to grab 4 boxes for this season since they are on closeout.

Anyway here we go again for those who missed it the first time. The promo video from Titleist for the new VG3 driver which features Serizawa in the US testing the driver and commenting on its performance as well as Dan Stone, VP Club R&D making comments on the driver.

And here are of course the pretty pics! You can find the VG3 here in the pro shop.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Most of our readers already understand that the Japanese golf market gets the all the best and premium gear. How it usually works is a Japanese company purchases the rights to a U.S golf company that includes all U.S product models as well as the ability to create their own product line.  This is a similar situation with Cleveland Golf which is now owned by SRI Sports which is the parent company of Srixon. In fact even Cleveland USA is owned by SRI Sports.

Prior to the buy out Cleveland Japan produced the Miura made TA588 Forged wedge, it was compact, made in Japan and a great wedge that I feel would have done very well on the U.S market except for it's price.  Well this year Cleveland has released another wedge that is fully Made in Japan and not available in the states. Enter the Cleveland CG15 Forged and it's available only in this stunning non plated gunmetal finish.

For more details and to see real images please click "Read More" below....

The CG15 Forged has the S shaped sole which keeps a constant sole width from the heel area to the sole which enhances performance in bunkers. The trail edge has also been ground down to reduce interaction with the rough on open face shots. The most important thing to note is that it has a laser milled face which puts 4 mini grooves in between each actual groove which increases spin and is still conforming.

In my personal opinion the SRI sports buy out has improved the brands quality and technology capabilities by a large margin. The Japanese are dominating the equipment portion of the golf world and if you went to the orlando PGA show and took notice there were actually more Japanese owned golf companies than their were U.S owned golf companies.

If you need this wedge now simply contact a TourSpecGolf sales representitive  by Email, Private Forum Message, or by clicking the contact us tab. It should be listed in the proshop shortly  so be on the lookout. 

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Callaway Golf had a terrific display this year featuring the new FT-Tour, Odyssey BackStrike Putters, Callaway Japan Only Legacy & Legacy TOUR Drivers as well as the Legacy Forged Irons, Fairway Woods, Hybrids, and a ton of amazing accessories.

Follow the Jump and click "Read More" to watch the TSG Callaway Golf Japan 2010 Tokyo Golf Show Video in HD!

( 2010 Callaway Japan Golf Show Booth )